Cigarette snuffer



March 26, 1957 T, wALDEN 2,786,473

CIGARETTE SNUFFER Filed Aug. 19, 1954 l/II/I/II/I/IAI/II/I/I IN V EN TOR.

BY MW ZSM United States Patent f) 2,786,473 Patented, Mar.

This invention relates to a ciga 'e t t e, snuifepandgpar: ticularly-to aieigarette'snuffer adapted to be mou ted on the ejclgeofangashtray of the type fgund. in automobile vehicles;

Xutoiotive vehicles are usually provided with l ding drawersl or ash trays in which the sp usually plagegh It frequently hap tinguishing a cigarette in an'ashtray of this contents of the tray wi ixh fiififimfire resulting in a particularly unpleasantodor emanated about the vehicle. Further, there is some danger that such an ashtray fire will communicate itself to material under the dash so that material damage may be done to the vehicle. Also, it is found that the smoker frequently prefers to lay down his cigarette for intervals particularly during time when he must use his hands to control or otherwise care for the vehicle. Heretofore, this has been inconvenient as the ashtray has seldom had any means to properly support the cigarette during this interval.

The present invention relates to an attachment adapted to be mounted on the edge of an ashtray and having jaws for receiving lighted cigarettes and a snufiing aperture adjacent to the jaws so that a cigarette may be completely extinguished before dropping the butt into the ashtray. The jaws being arranged adjacent to the side of the snufllng aperture so that the cigarette may be guided along the back face of the jaw into the aperture so that the occupant of the car may snuff his cigarette without removing his vision from the roadway or other territory which he should be watching while driving.

In the construction according to the invention a body of material thickness is provided, having a bottom slot of sufficient width to be passed over the edge of an ashtray and having a fastener such as a set screw therein properly retaining the body on the edge of the ashtray. The top of the ashtray body is provided with a pair of upstanding jaws of material length so that a cigarette may readily be mounted therein and having the snufiing aperture contiguous with the back face of one of the aws.

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an improved cigarette snufier.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a cigarette snuffer which may be conveniently mounted on an ashtray.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a cigarette snufier which can be utilized without the necessity of watching the operation.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an ashtray on the dash of an automotive vehicle with a cigarette snuflFer according to the invention mounted thereon;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the cigarette snufier showing the manner of supporting a cigarette therein;

the manner of suppor through" 1 ne. i e e alt therein of sufficient width to extend 0v; H or 18 of the ashtray, 1 4. A logging means set sgrew 24.,is lpr ded 'bod" rans ersely: a r9,.. 11s 191 2.

b f i t ly. nti ated. 1., the.

a q easasi a ea The body 20 is"p rbvided with a pair of upstanding jaws" 30 and 32 having upwardly divergent surfaces 34 and 36 which provide a cigarette receiving slot therebetween. The top portion of the surfaces 34 and 36 is of sufiicient width that a cigarette will readily pass therethrough but the bottom ends of the surfaces 34 and 36 are so close together that a cigarette will not readily pass therethrough. A pair of guide surfaces 38 and 40 are provided on the top of the jaws 30 and 32 with the guide surfaces 38 and 40 merging with the diverging walls 34 and 36, respectively.

The surfaces 34 and 36 are of sufficient length so that the cigarette 42 when received therein will be rigidly held therein so that when the fire burns up to the end of the jaws as seen in Figure 2 the fire will be extinguished and the cigarette stub will be firmly held between the jaws 30 and 32.

The body 20 is provided adjacent its opposite side with an aperture 50 adjacent to the back side of the jaw 32 with the aperture 50 being vertically elongated and defined by side walls 52 and 54, the side walls 52 and 54 being elongated and terminating in ends 56 and 58 so that the aperture 50 is substantially rectangular and sloping upwardly from the bottoms of the jaws. Preferably the side 54 terminates in a curved lip 60 to provide a guide surface thereon and the wall 52 is a continuation of the back side of the jaw 32 so that the jaw 32 provides a guide for the aperture 50. Edges 62 and 64 are provided adjacent the bottom of the aperture 50 transversely thereof and opposite each other so that the aperture is materially reduced so that a cigarette will not readily pass therethrough.

In the utilization of the device, the device will be clamped on the edge of an ashtray suchas the sliding ashtray on the instrument panel of an automobile and the driver may place the cigarette between the jaws 30 and 32 at any time when it is desired to use the hands for the driving purposes and in the event the cigarette is forgotten it will be extinguished when the fire approaches the jaws. In the meantime, the cigarette will be firmly held so that the vibration incident to the mounting in the motor vehicle will not cause the device to lose the cigarette onto the floor or other places. Consequently, the cigarette will be firmly held until such time as the owner wishes to retrieve it or until such time as the fire approaches the jaws at which time the fire will be extinguished and the cigarette stub or butt will be firmly held until such time as it is displaced therefrom.

On the other hand, if the motorist wishes to extinguish his cigarette he may extend the same over the device and bring it against the surface 52 on the back side of the jaw 32 so that the same will serve as a guide for pushing the cigarette into the aperture 50 in such manner that the operator of the vehicle may perform the operation of snuffing the cigarette without the necessity of looking at the snutfer.

When the cigarette is passed into the aperture 50, the cigarette will rapidly be extinguished and may then be dropped into the ashtray so that there is no danger of starting a flare in the ashtray from the fire remaining on the butts dropped therein.

For purposes of exemplification a particular embodiment of the invention has been shown and described according to the best present understanding thereof. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications in the construction and arrangement of parts thereof may be readily resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

A cigarette snuffer comprising a vertically elongated body having a bifurcated bottom portion adjacent one side thereof forming a vertical slot having a rectangular section adapted to straddle an edge of an ash tray to position said body in an upright position on the tray, said body having a vertically elongated cigarette snufiing aperture therein adjacent its opposite side laterally offset from said slot to position said aperture in the tray, said aperture being rectangular transversely with a pair of opposite horizontal ledges therein spaced apart and at the lower end of the aperture to pass cigarette ashes therebetween and prevent a cigarette butt from passing downwardly out of said aperture.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 147,816 Russo et a1. Nov. 4, 1947 1,667,592 Evens Apr. 24, 1928 1,708,497 Clithero Apr. 9, 1929 1,778,998 Giberson Oct. 21, 1930 1,832,372 Evens Nov. 17, 1931 1,912,682 Belt June 6, 1933 1,923,529 Cohen Aug. 22, 1933 2,146,489 Thomas Feb. 7, 1939 2,371,445 Irvin Mar. 13, 1945 2,374,442 Lulham Apr. 24, 1945 2,480,245 Irvin Aug. 30, 1949 2,617,429 Smereck Nov. 11, 1952 2,619,093 Fontneau Nov. 25, 1952 2,672,874 Lehman Mar. 23, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 342,910 Great Britain Feb. 12, 1931 

